Dating Greed (Part 7A)
A quick note -
I am Johnnypenn, but since I cannot see that journal, I made this one so that I can continue to keep posting. I put a more perceptive post up on that journal, but LJ really isn't all that fun if you can't see your journal...Anyway. \
This is part 7a.
- - -
Dating Greed (part 7a)
Disclaimer - I do not own.
Rating - R
Pairing - Greed/Edward, One sided Ling/Edward
Summary - Edward got Al’s body back and Al’s gone off to school. Now, with a fledgling relationship starting with Greed, Edward is sent off to the boarder land to gather intelligence. Too bad it was just a trick.
A/N - Sorry for the mix up here. My normal LJ I’d post this under is blocked by my computer, I cannot see shit. So, I am making this my main LJ till I can get my blocker un-blocked to be able and use my old one. It really sucks. So Aubreestjames is in all actuality johnnypenn.
- - -
A significant bump had Edward falling off the wooden bench and landing hard on the floor. It was a good thing that his car was empty, so no one could laugh about the Fullmetal Alchemist being shaken awake in such an embarrassing way. His first stop was Pendleton.
Pendleton was the last city of the West and continually a disputed town between Amestris and Creta. Their border disputes wars - as far as Edward could remember - went on for ages and for one reason or another Pendleton was always a topic point. He couldn’t list how many times he’d heard of Pendleton changing sides, but it did. The people were strong and lived there despite the continual presence of one army or another.
Winter had settled in the West as well as it had in Central. Edward wished he’d thought to take the bear coat Greed had bought for him. It’d be a shade warmer than his iconic red coat. Despite Edward doubling up the fabric and adding fur to the inside with Alchemy. Somehow it just wasn’t the same. He felt that he’d grown out of the coat, that he should wear something else.
That, however, wasn’t the sort of image Mustang and Olivier wanted to send out; He knew what they were up too, though he didn’t know why. He knew he’d find out, because Ling wouldn’t be far behind him. Either Ling would ignore hid duty and run after Edward - or he’d wait for a later time and date to inform Edward as to his plans.
That wasn’t to say that the Prince was dumb. Far from it - which probably made him a bit scarier to deal with; Edward really hated it when he met someone who was just as sneaky as himself. He hoped that Ling was just playing a game and as soon as he realized that Edward wasn’t going to play…that he’d just go find someone else to bother.
The train whistle rustled Edward out of his musings and slowly came to a halt. Edward pulled his hood about his ears and grabbed his traveling case. First thing was first; he’d find an Inn, talk to the locals and then speak with the military police. Hopefully no one would recognize him, even in his coat. Though, he hadn’t ever worried about it before when he traveled with Alphonse.
He wished Al was with him then, it would be nice to have his brother along.
- - -
Greed sat at his desk in the Devils Knights Fetish Club on fifth and Heart Street. The leather D/S club was full tonight and he could hear the loud music from the front dance floor. He wished, not for the first time, that he’d put sound proofing in this room.
“He’s just checked into the Inn,” Heinkel informed his boss.
“Keep some distance, I didn’t exactly tell him that I’d be sending my own private bodyguards,” Greed explained.
“Why do you need bodyguards?” Heinkel joked.
“Forget it, you great big pussy,” Greed growled.
“Sorry boss,” Heinkel didn’t sound sorry.
“Just make sure Edward is all right,” Greed replied and then dropped the phone back onto its cradle, effectively cutting off Heinkel in a deep throated laugh. Damn, but his goons could be so annoying, especially when they were smart and Chimera to boot.
Now, the only thing he had to worry about was Ling and if he was in the city or not. Of course, Greed knew that his contacts would call him if anything suspicious was done on Ling’s time.
- - -
Olivier and Roy Mustang were the only two Amestrians in the bland room. The windows were closed tightly against a sheet of snow that blanketed Central city and kept on falling. The sky was a nice opal gray. The blueness of the room seemed dim in light of day. The dark paneling and the long table seemed to just make the room darker.
Olivier sat at the head of the Table with Roy sitting at her right. Behind Roy was a smaller, yet long table that held refreshments. He had both fetched Olivier and himself cups of coffee. They didn’t speak.
They waited an hour - with refills - for the five Xing Princes and Princesses to arrive. Each wore splendid robes; none were allowed their contingent of finely trained Ninjas. This wasn’t a field of war and Olivier had enough experience as Head of Briggs and as an Older Sister that she insisted on the utmost respect for each other and her besides. Roy was there as her backup. He could singe any one of them at a hundred and fifty feet, easy; with just ten between Roy and Yu Man Shen, of which jingled as she walked due to bells at the tips of thousands of braids that swept about her ankles.
Roy sipped his coffee as the Princes and Princesses sat down about the table, each giving each other the evil eye. They didn’t care one wit about Amestris, Roy could see that off the bat, no - their only priority was gaining Emperor of Xing - or Empress, respectively.
“I thought we were to sit down with your hero,” Zhen She Shen said. He was the thirteenth Prince of Xing, an unlucky number if Roy’s memory served.
“We have put him to better use elsewhere,” Olivier replied sardonically. “I have decided to oversee these negotiations myself, Fullmetal may be a Hero, but I highly doubt that his theory of “equivalent exchange” will work for trade tariffs,” she joked.
Ling was silent as his siblings started complaining. Apparently, a few sisters had their hearts set on meeting the “Golden Boy” - seeing as how their Alchemy had technically been brought to them by some man who looked a hell of a lot like Edward - Father, Olivier knew, no doubts - they’d wanted to cozy up to him.
Olivier hadn’t seen the girls being so impressed about a nineteen year old boy who’d only ever had eyes for his Brother and their goal to regain their bodies. Edward still hosted his metal limbs. He still had eyes for Alphonse, in a brotherly way. Olivier wanted Edward as far away from these hooligans as she could manage. So, sending him to Pendleton wasn’t such a bad idea. After all, Edward had managed more than a mere boarder war when he was fucking twelve years old.
“Sorry for the disappointment, Ladies,” Roy put in, and he smiled charmingly at them, “Fullmetal isn’t known for his progressive ideas, if we are to get anything done and have a continuing peace,” and he gave them all a significant glance, “than I do believe that our Fuhrur Mother will guide us well,” and he’d only said that last part to butter Olivier to him - however, it’d gotten the siblings to calm down, though they still glared, entirely.
“Now, I do believe that we’ll have to renegotiate the treaty of Xerxes if we are to both become wealthy countries…” and Olivier snapped into a diatribe of history that eventually had all the young Xingians half-way asleep.
Ling, however, wasn’t paying attention.
- - -
Not for the first time, did Edward transmute his bed. His back hurt because of the Automail. It was normal to gain some form of Arthritis, but it hurt like a bitch and some days he couldn’t rightly get out of bed if he pushed himself too far. He’d been taking it easy these last few weeks but after a week’s ride on the hard bench of a train, it really hurt to try and bend his waist that morning. The snow lay heavily on the ground and the room was chilled from the winter wind. He really hated this mission all ready because it was so damned cold, even with the fur of his coat and the added heating array he’d also put on the bed so that he’d get warm somehow.
He really wished that Creta and Amestris could negotiate this out and come to peace terms. This was just annoying, ever since he was a kid he’d only ever heard about Pendleton and how it switched sides. Even now it was on the verge of doing so again, and people were going to die.
“Well,” Edward groused, “if I have to get out of bed and be miserable, than everyone else will be miserable with me,” he said to the room. Alphonse wasn’t there with his normal, “Oh Edward, stop exaggerating,”
Which reminded him…
The room had a phone and Edward pushed through the pain to dial the number to Al’s dorm room. It rang a few times before Alphonse yawned into the phone.
“Edward, do you have any idea what time it is here?” Alphonse asked by-way of greeting.
“Whatever, I am in Pendleton,” Edward muttered.
“Is it cold?” Alphonse asked.
“Yeah,”
“Keep warm,” he replied.
“Thanks,” Edward nodded, he hated being cold.
“How are your studies?” he asked instead, trying to distract himself.
“Fine, it’s really interesting, I am learning so much,” Alphonse now sounded excited.
“I’m glad,” Edward nodded again even though Alphonse couldn’t see.
“Yeah, and Winry’s been up a couple of times all ready, will your train swing by after the Mission?”
“Maybe I can pull it off, I’m a Colonel after all,” Edward joked.
“Sweet, thanks Ed,”
“No problem, sorry I woke you,” Edward offered.
Alphonse sounded as if he shrugged. “I’d have been up in twenty anyway,”
“Okay, do well,” Edward said and they cut the connection at the same time. It was nice to hear Alphonse’s voice. Edward went back to sleep and rested peacefully, though the arthritis would haunt him throughout the day.
TBC